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That’s on top of the $4 million the pro-Obama super PAC Priorities USA Action and the Service Employees International Union have committed to spending through the summer on Spanish TV and radio ads hitting Romney in Colorado, Nevada and Florida.

In contrast, Mitt Romney has spent about $110,000 on Spanish-language ads during the general election, sources say.

It’s not just about winning a minority group; it’s about a well-located minority group. With large populations in some of the biggest battlegrounds — Hispanics make up more than one-fifth of the population in Colorado, Florida and Nevada — Obama and his support believe the Latino vote can literally be the difference that delivers a second term for the president.

“It’s a lot of votes,” Congressional Hispanic Caucus Chairman Charles Gonzalez (D-Texas) said of the Latino community. “And that may well determine who wins this election if it comes down to certain battleground states.”

The advertising blitz comes alongside Obama’s move in June to halt the deportation of some young illegal immigrants. The policy won acclaim from Latino voters who have been disappointed by the lack of movement on comprehensive immigration reform and the stalled DREAM Act, which would create a path to citizenship for some young illegal immigrants.

Obama and the Democratic National Committee poured $20 million into a joint Hispanic voter outreach effort in 2008, which paid off when Obama garnered 67 percent of the Hispanic vote, according to a Pew Hispanic Center analysis.

An Obama campaign spokesperson wouldn’t say whether Democrats will top that spending this cycle, but their early spending is an indication that they could come close. The campaign is planning to keep running ads targeted to Latinos through Election Day.

The early spending is key, Democrats say.

“In the past, a number of political campaigns have made the mistake when targeting Hispanic and Latino voters of either starting communicating with them too late or spending too little,” said John Rowley, a Democratic media consultant. “I think that’s a mistake that the Obama team is trying to not make.”

Obama already has a sizable advantage over Romney with Latino voters. A survey in five swing states released June 22 showed Obama leading Romney among Latino voters by 36 percentage points overall across Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Nevada and Virginia, with the biggest leads in Arizona, Colorado and Nevada.

The huge gulf between campaigns on Spanish-language ad buys could narrow now that Romney is no longer in primary mode. Romney has already softened his tone on immigration since the GOP primary, when he drew fire for saying at a debate that he would encourage “self-deportation” of the estimated 11 million people living in the United States illegally.

The Romney campaign has made it clear that it wants to put a dent in Obama’s lead among Latinos since it’s not likely to win the group outright. That could be particularly effective in a state like North Carolina, where Obama beat Sen. John McCain by about 14,000 votes in 2008 and where there are about 182,000 registered Latino voters.

Hey folks - are Hispanics Amricans? I am just wondering. Are Afro-Americans Americans? I am just wondering, because the Vietnamese immigrants are just Americans, the Polish immigrants are just Americans, the Irish immigrants are just Americans, the Indian immigrants are just Americans, the Polynesian immigrants are just Americans. Seems like all the immigrants that came to America decided to just be American, except these folks. I am just wondering.

Hey folks - are Hispanics Amricans? I am just wondering. Are Afro-Americans Americans? I am just wondering, because the Vietnamese immigrants are just Americans, the Polish immigrants are just Americans, the Irish immigrants are just Americans, the Indian immigrants are just Americans, the Polynesian immigrants are just Americans. Seems like all the immigrants that came to America decided to just be American, except these folks. I am just wondering.

Republicans will out spend many times over on ads and get out the vote initiatives than democrats.

The Republican Super Pacs are funded by billionaires like the Koch brothers, Adelson.

They have the added advantage of going negative yet declaring themselves as Americans for Freedom and so forth. One thing is running ads but quite another is unlimited amount of funding behind false names.

@Loretta, not only do they 'screech about illegals, they post outrageous lies with no links to support their lies. When it is all said and done this November, President Obama should send a thank you letter to the Tea Party. The Tea Party is responsible for chasing American Latinos to the Democrat Party. Keep it up TeaBaggers...you're doing great work.

Btw, no, I think there are plenty of jobs for this class of person since they tend to be easily exploited and provide cheap labor so your beloved 1% can live the life they deserve. I think it's the middle class that got whacked job-wise by Reaganomics, aka "Trickle-down', aka "Redistribute up" economics.

Corporations are not people. I am willing to defend your right to free speach even if it is racist or what I consider unholy.

But that is quite different from you running millions of dollars of ads under a false name. Does the viewer have the right to know your identity when you are making a claim? Does the viewer have the freedom to consider why you make such a statement on what basis and what is in it for you?

Thats the most important argument for me.

There is also other critics such as why would Mr Adelson have more say and hence drowning out opponents.